Hope In My Eyes
by Hisgirlfelicity
Summary: Soulmate AU: She'd seen the hood in the news before and she'd be lying if she said that the green and the arrows didn't strike close to home.


___**Title:** Esperanza de mis ojos  
__**Rating**: T  
**Ship**: Olicity  
**Word Count**: 4,827  
**Summary: **Soulmate AU:She'd seen __the hood_ in the news before and she'd be lying if she said that the green and the arrows didn't strike close to home.  
Tumblr Prompt: Soulmate AU? I know these have been done, but I love them... love to see what you can do with this ! thanks

___Hey guys so this story got way out of hand, it was suppose to be a short response to the prompt I got on tumblr but alas... anyways forgive my spanish on this title, the story was inspired by a song in spanish and I hadddd to use it in the title. anyways, I have never read any soulmate AU, i've seen the idea floating around so I don't know how the other stories incorporated it into the story so I hope you enjoy my take ! thanks_

* * *

_~Esperanza de mis ojos~  
(The hope of my eyes) _

_"Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same."  
__- Emily Brontë_

She found_ it _on a windy autumn afternoon

Felicity stared at the tiny slender green arrow that she was sure wasn't there before. She peered intently at the mark, positioned low on her chest where if she placed her hand she could probably feel her heart beating excitedly if not a bit gingerly from behind the safe refuge of her rib cage.

She examined it, letting her curious fingers dance over the outline, the unique pattern of her fingertips roaming over the symbol for an absent-minded moment. The orange of her nails, bright and lively against the pale of her skin moved over the stamp wondering if it would smudge, like marker, or rub off like pen

It did neither

She couldn't help but gawk at the emblem stationed on the smooth skin.

She wondered about him, why now? it was just a quiet sunday afternoon, what changed?

of corse there were stories...myths?...truths?.. that some chose to believe and others to ignore. It was said, among the more romantic Starling city dwellers, that your mark would appear only when your other half was ready to be what you needed, when _they_ needed _you_ in their lives and when _you_ needed _them_, whether you both knew it or not. There were others that accounted it to nature, your body produced your mark when the time was right, like puberty or menstruation.

But there was one indisputable fact about The Mark, the person who had the same one was your soul mate, the love of your life, your other half

Some said the gods had a plan, that they were waiting for one person's birth, the greatest of our kind that would save us from destruction- they needed the birth lines to remain and so they sent marks and hoped we would catch on. Others spoke of a great warrior in our past, one that possessed both courage and heart that had the best of us all within him- that reassured the gods of the good in mankind so much so that they decided to help us out, seeing that love brought out the best in humans, they sent marks and hoped we would listen.

She carefully placed her hand overtop it and, as she had predicted, she felt her heart beating calmly against the warm surface of her hand. Did she need him? she looked around her brightly decorated apartment and signed, her job at QC paid well enough... she had food and clothes and a roof to live under and thats more that could be said for some people. She found herself moving back over to her desk and tearing her focus away from the mirror in her bathroom and back to the paperwork that stood in a tall stack on top the smooth surface, she pulled her tank top a little higher so that the arrow disappeared under the soft cotton fabric...She was fine how she was now, maybe her mark had made a mistake...

But what Felicity didn't know is that he would bring her purpose, he would bring a mission to her life that would see her help her city instead of snotty QC employes who called her a geek behind her back (or to her face). And she.. she would bring him peace, and more importantly, she would be the hope shining bright in his world of utter darkness.

Oliver Queen came back from his shipwreck on a rainy spring night.

The familiar surname had her hand stopping mid-way to delivering a spoonful of cereal to her waiting mouth. Her hand hovered where it had been halted by curiosity, the spoon dripping milk, her mouth still open not sure if still waiting for the cereal that would probably not come or if in utter shock at hearing the news anchor talk about the rescue of the marooned heir to the company at which she worked at. She settled for a mixture of both

The only shot they had was one of him on a fishing boat, taken by a very low resolution phone camera that saw him sitting, looking back towards the island he was found on, a massive beard hiding half his face.

So naturally, when she ran into him a few days after on her way down into the IT department, she didn't recognize him.

She was late, something rare and unwelcome to the blonde that now hurried breathlessly towards the elevator that she hoped had been fixed over the weekend. Her heels resounded on the pristine tiles of the lobby and she waved swiftly at Marcus, her 40-something year old friend that stood cheerfully guarding the doors at QC. He was in the middle of whistling a tune and greeting a woman when he saw her, his smile brightening instantly- she was just only getting her words out to tell him she was in a hurry and that she would meet him for lunch when she ran into a rock hard object that she could of sworn was...well... a rock. But when she straightened her glasses, still sprawled on the QC lobby floor, ready to ask the nearest employee why someone had placed a random rock in the middle of the lobby she was met with the deepest blue eyes she could ever account on seeing.

"God, I'm sorry, I didn't see you there" he murmured, bending over to grasp her shoulders and set her back onto her feet. When she was back on top her high heels she could see why he hadn't seen her- he was huge, easily had five inches on her, even with heels on.

"S'alright" she told him, prying her eyes from the hard planes of his chest, her thoughts from how hard it'd felt against her own chest and looked down regretfully at all the paperwork dispersed on the floor.

She'd spent the whole afternoon on those stupid papers, she'd even only half watched Game of Thrones last night, and everyone knows that John Snow _cannot_ be fully appreciated through only one eye. God, she's such a klutz- it'll be her undoing she's sure of it. One day she'll just stumble her way onto a sharp object and die.

The warm sound of a raspy chuckle had her eyes snapping back to the stranger who hadn't just quickly made an escape and left her with her thoughts.

Which were apparently _not_ thoughts as she heard him start to apologize for her having to under appreciate John Snow and calling _himself_ the klutz.

Yeah right, he looked like a freaking Calvin Klein model and was probably anything _but_ a klutz

"I should have been paying more attention, Mrs..?"

"_Miss_ Smoak" she clarified, finding her cheeks stain at his unspoken question

He smiled and her heart all but stopped "Well, Miss Smoak" he said, crouching down to gather all her papers in a sweep of his arm "I do apologize, I hope I can make it up to you"

and with that, he was gone- heading towards the elevators. They _did_ get fixed, she noticed as the doors close, but not before he sends another smile in her direction. She only thinks about it when she's seated at her desk having taken the heat from her supervision for being 20 minutes late. How was he going to make it up to her when she didn't even know his name? and he didn't know anything about her but her last name. She shook her head, her sleek ponytail brushing against the bare shoulders her pink dress left revealed trying to shake the thoughts of handsome strangers and hard chests out of her mind- forcing her wandering mind to focus on debugging a financial advisers desktop.

She didn't recognize him, so she didn't have a chance to babble about ships and downing- thankfully

She checked her mark again that day. The whole day she had been feeling a strange feeling in her heart- as if it were trying to tell her something.  
_Too much cholesterol_- she thinks to herself ,_gotta lay off the Big Belly Burger, it's giving me a big belly _she chuckled, staring at her perfectly slim torso, and heart pains, apparently

She shook her head at herself and fixed the glasses perched low on the bridge of her nose. She felt a sense of reassurance at seeing the slim arrow still stark against her pale skin

It wasn't unheard of that a mark fade.. leaving the owner confused and more than a little heartbroken

Her head tilted to the side curiously eyeing the arrow symbol, not for the first time wondering what it might mean and who might have the same one.

* * *

He met up with her again a few days later- accidentally ... or so he tried to make it seem

"Miss Smoak" he calls out to her as she's making her way down the sidewalk to QC, two cups of steaming coffee in her hand. One intended to keep her awake and the other for Marcus. "Oh, hey..." the blank where his name was suppose to go was left unfilled when she remembered she didn't actually know his name... It came out more like a question and she waited for him to speak "Oliver" he said simply, a flicker of something flashing in his eye that looked a lot like worry

She studied him, a whisper of stubble on his chin, his hair cropped short and a very alluring smile that revealed his perfect set of pearly whites. Why she doesn't put one and one together then, she doesn't know- she just shrugs at his odd behavior and greets him kindly.

"Are you following me?" she blurts after a few moments , instantly cringing on how that sounded "not that you would want to follow me" she said, his eyebrows shot up in amusement as she continued to embarrass herself "I mean, I'm very followable- I actually had a stalker in college, he played lacrosse and was actually kind of creepy"

she blanched

"Not that you're creepy, I wasn't calling you creepy...even if you were into lacrosse, which I don't think you would be you look more like a football or rugby type maybe even basketball- seeing that you're huge, but even if you were that'd just be a coincidence..."

his eyebrows shot up once more

"I mean huge as in tall not huge as in..."

"Im not following you" he cut in, his voice holding a tone of amusement, his eyes genuinely smiling "but if you're heading to QC, I'd be honored to escort you" he tells her, his eyes still bright

"ok" she shrugged, what a strange handsome stranger... did she mention handsome? because he's very handsome. He even smells nice, she noticed as she got a whiff of his aftershave from the light breeze.

They talk a bit as they walk, him inquiring about her, keeping all the attention away from himself.. and her babbling excitedly in answer to all his questions.  
they make it to QC her still smiling up at Oliver from something he had said before, she looked up at Marcus to hand him his coffee and his eyes all but bugged out of his face at the sight of her companion "Oh, H-Hi there Mr.-"

"Oliver" he interjects, eyeing Marcus, a hidden gesture of authority in his glance

Marcus nods "Of corse Mr. Oliver"

Felicity looks in between the men, Oliver smiling charmingly at her and Marcus tensed up like that beef jerky he's always chewing on.

Somethings definitely up

"Well, Felicity, It was nice speaking to you again. I hope we will meet again soon" he bends down to place a swift kiss on the back of her hand before strutting towards the elevators

Hmm she didn't recall giving him her name

She wonders where he works, maybe in finance? When she looks up at Marcus he's looking at her as if she'd lost her mind

"What?" she asks innocently

"Licity, do you know who that is?" he asks incredulously, the idea that she doesn't and she has been babbling her mouth off to _Oliver Queen_ popping into his head... Oh the horrors she could of said. _She's probably already made an innuendo_, he thinks halfway amused by his friend and horrified for his co-worker. By the look on his face he didn't want her to find out who he was

_what the hell?_, the QC security guard though to himself, _None of my business_

"What do you mean by that?" She asks, taking a sip of her coffee and sighing contently, not admitting even to herself that at closing her eyes she envisions a certain tall and handsome stranger

not a stranger- _Oliver_

"Nothing" he said, shaking his head

"Marcus! why wont you tell me?" The security guard only smirks at her "because I value my _job_"

* * *

Of corse it was Oliver Queen- Of corse

There wasn't anyone more entirely embarrassing that she could of babbled off to- so naturally it had to be him. She could't deny the wave of disappointment when she found out, seeing him walk into the IT department shadowing Mr. Steele - thank god she'd been in the break room and had only seen them from afar, but still the disappointment etched at her chest... dangerously close to where her heart lay. Oliver Frekin' Queen... Playboy Billionaire _Oliver Queen_, Of corse he wouldn't be interested in an IT specialist, it was probably some stupid bet or something with one of his other billionaire friends, she's seen enough of those in the movies of her younger years- _She's All That_ coming into mind.

She purposely ignores the fact that Zach ends up with Laney and continues wondering how she could of been so blind, Gucci suits? yeah right, theres no way a job at finance paid that well.

She gives Marcus a piece of her mind for not telling her right then and there

"and what was I suppose to do?!" he retorts "The man owns the company, and my babies need feedin, they need their dippers"

"We both know your kid's in high school, Marcus" he winces

"Yeah, Well" he finishes lamely, shrugging his shoulders at the blonde genius

"Traitor"

"He likes you, 'Licity" His words stop her in her tracks and she narrows her eyes as she hands him his cup of coffee

If he liked her, he would of been honest

Marcus' face contorts in disgust as he takes a sip of the piping hot drink

"'Licity, you know I hate whipped cream!" he wines, too similar to a child for her to believe he's in his forties

"Yeah, well" she throws over her shoulder, snickering at the look on his face.

* * *

She thought of Oliver that night, remembering the spark in his eyes and thinking he seemed nothing like how they depicted him on the TMZ videos she'd indulged in after seeing him with Walter

_Maybe thats because he changed_, she thinks to herself, laying restlessly on her bed. Being stranded on an Island for 5 years probably does that to people, she repressed the wave of pity that surged in her heart and urged herself to not feel bad for him- that most likely not what he wants

Thats probably why he didn't tell her who he was, and in that way- she understood him

She considered that for a moment and decided not to dwell on it anymore- He was _Oliver Queen_ for god's sake, he was probably back at his mansion (_Estate_, probably- that's how massive it was) and was probably well on his way to take over the company, which she hoped she still had a job at after practically calling him a stalker, he would probably get back with his long time... what was her name?..._Laurel_, yeah Laurel, he'd probably marry her and live happily ever after

It felt wrong for some reason, even in her thoughts. She ran her hands through her blonde strands and tried to repress the feeling.

Most importantly he probably didn't have a green arrow occupying the space above his heart.

* * *

She found _him_ on a humid summer night

Only she didn't know she technically already knew him. using the term '_Knew_' utterly lightly for obvious reasons

She'd seen _the hood_ in the news before and she'd be lying if she said that the green and the arrows didn't strike close to home.

But now, seeing hm stand before her in a dark alleyway, she felt a sudden, very strange, magnetism that all but pulled her towards him

"Miss, you shouldn't be out here this late" he spoke, his words oddly distorted by what she guessed was...well... a voice distorter. Yeah well he could blame her sudden craving for Mint chip- I mean, she's only human and that show she'd seen on discovery channel about the atmosphere and global warming that pretty much convinced her to walk, it wasn't really even that far and her cars gas milage was pretty much horrible

He chuckled and she shouldn't have been surprised that she'd said all of that out loud.

she stared at him, still a little shaken from the encounter with the two thieves, who, now that she mentioned it, still lay knocked out on the hot pavement. "Were you- were you going to.." he shook his head, his green leather hood not moving so much as an inch, keeping his face in the shadows

"What" she blurts

"Nothing, it just looked as if you were getting ready to fight them off" he told her, she could hear a ring of humor even from behind all that disguise

"I was" she said simply, matter-of-factly

he was speechless, she could tell

"My dad- he, uh, he wanted boys, and I mean worst case scenario I give them the purse and run, right?" she continued

he nodded in acknowledgement and turned to leave

"They didn't what your purse" he stated

a shiver runs down her back

"take your car next time" he ordered before he disappeared into the shadows

"Well, seems like the Starling city Vigilante isn't very environmentally friendly" she commented to herself, denying the faint laughter she thought she heard and regretfully turning back towards her apartment complex- needles to say, _without_ her Ice-cream.

She couldn't shake the feeling that she was being followed the whole way back- it felt strange, she felt _safe_, It felt _right_.

That night, laying in bed- she wonders about the Hoods mark and how much sense it would make for it to be a slim green arrow as her eyes give into sleep.

* * *

The next time Oliver Queen walks into her life he's trailing a serious looking bodyguard behind him and laying some ridiculous lie on her about sports drinks and syringes.

He looks like hell, she notices, and when he implies that he's hungover, she doesn't believe him.

She doesn't believe half the words that come out of his ridiculously alluring mouth, actually.

"That's some story you've got there, _Mr. Queen_" she tells him, letting him know she's not buying what he's selling, and if he's surprised that she knows who he is- he doesn't show it.

"And tell me, Mr. Queen, if it's a sports drink- why is it in a syringe?" the question was screaming to get asked and she wasn't an idiot. His bodyguard's eyebrows shoot up , turning wordlessly towards the elevators, obviously wanting no part of the ridiculous lie Oliver was about to produce

and produce he did

"He- Uh, He ran out of sports bottles"

She purses her lips and nods almost sarcastically as she takes the syringe "Ok, I'll run the search" she assures him, noticing the obvious relief on his handsome features

He smiled, turned on his heel and disappeared towards the elevators where his bodyguard stood waiting

If Felicity Smoak tells you that the magnetism she feels with Oliver Queen and The Hood is different- she'd be lying.

* * *

She knew already but she appreciates the drama behind his reveal all the same- the blood stains in her mini, not so much. He's dying, sprawled on a cold metal table when she see's it first. John places a defibrillator pad overtop it without a second thought, probably thinking it was in homage to his mission, not knowing she had an identical symbol right above her heart, a heart that was aching to see him lying lifelessly on the table. Her hand comes to rest on it protectively, a normal gesture that people might do in a situation like that one, only meaningful to her.

She sees Digg's as he's moving quickly and purposefully around his boss' hurt frame. It looks like a leopard spot on his forearm only half hidden by the sleeve of his dress shirt that is halfway rolled up stoping short before hitting his elbow. It could pass for a birthmark, but she knew better- countless moment staring at her own, she knew one when she saw one- there was a sort of delicacy to it's outline that made it clear it was no accident- its presence had a purpose, and when her eyes roamed down and saw a wedding band on his finger, she was glad he had found his.

It didn't seem like a good time to mention it when he woke up, him having almost just died and all- how do you even casually mention something like that?_ hey, listen, you were just dying there and I just happened to see your mark, and- it's a funny story really, you see- I have the same one. I'm the love of your life_

yeah right

so she rambles on about Madonna and leg warmers instead

He smiles at her, a truly beautiful sight, and she finds herself wondering if he feels it too

he thanks her and asks if she's in. She ponders how safe accepting his offer actually was, and when she estimated the possible damage all she feared was a broken heart or a fading green arrow that she had become quite fond of.

She takes his hand and they're lost for a moment, just the two of them.

And then she ruins it by talking about pee.

* * *

He's pushy, overprotective, and worries way too much and it irritates every cell of her body

"Oliver, you have to let me do this! it's the only way to get an inside into the casino"

"No" he grounds out from behind a clenched jaw

"Oliver, we'll be closer to finding Walter, the only reason I'm here, if my memory serves me" she's in his space now, Diggle on the edge of intervening

a moment passes and she thinks that he might remember what she told him about stumbling upon a sharp object and dying- her demeanor softens, her hand coming to lay reassuringly on his shoulder

"It'll be okay, we have a plan- it's practically bulletproof" she jokes, trying to diffuse the tension, realizing it failed miserably when his shoulder tenses under her hand

"I want you to keep the coms on the entire time- I will be just outside if anything goes wrong"

It does, of corse. But he's there to save her when she needs it

its a reoccurring theme really, him saving her

and even though he doesn't see it- he's a hero, her hero.

* * *

It's a stupid injury really, just a bullet graze on her shoulder.

Sarah, his girlfriend, patches it up, her babbling endlessly about finally being able to say she's save'd someones life.

Oliver stays with his back facing his blonde IT sidekick, having to bite his tongue to not tell her that she's been saving him since the moment she ran right into his arms

Sarah smiles at her, her mark slightly visible on the very edge of her shoulder.

He'd longtime seen hers and shed longtime seen his, realizing instantly that they didn't match

so Sarah was not the least bit surprised when she eyed the Blond's mark, _a green arrow_, right where she'd traced Oliver's the night before

her eyes softened as she looked from her loopy friend to her brooding boyfriend- who seemed to smile so completely when he was with her- the IT genius who was stronger than she got credit for

_She's good for him_, she thought, finishing up her stitches.

Felicity wondered sometimes why her mark appeared when it did, why the sign that he was ready for her showed up when he was clearly not ready for any of it, and sometimes when he's sharing a moment with Sarah she wonders why _hers_ doesn't match _his_, why after all they have lived through together are they not meant to _be_ together

and then other times when he's sharing a scorching look with her, when he says her name in the way only he can, when their fighting and all she wants to do is pull him down and shut him up with a kiss

She gets her answer.

And lord, she was by no means patient

Really, she wasn't, but for him, for _them_- she would be

and even though he thought he wasn't worth saving- she knew he was, she could see past the walls he's built tall and solid. She could see him knocking them down brick by brick when he looked at her, when he smiled that one smile that seemed reserved just for her

and when they were both ready to accept it, it was a simple moment, not a life and death situation where they weren't sure if they would both make it out alive (and there were plenty of those), It wasn't a strategy to lure in a nemesis- it was a quiet moment on her unstable fire escape- and she wouldn't have it any other way.

She finds him there, obviously torn in between knocking on her window and heading back towards where he came from  
he's in his leathers when she spots him, recognizing him immediately- feeling the same enchantment she'd been feeling from the moment they met- the one she was long time sure he felt too.

"Felicity.." he murmurs, cupping her face with his gloved hand- telling her so many things in the four syllables

"I know" she murmurs back, moving the hand that cupped her cheek down her neck to rest lightly over her heart- over her mark.

His eyes never leave hers as he reaches over for her hand to move it directly above his own heart where she knows a slim green arrow lays warn and battered on his chest.

His warm lips finally meet hers, right there on her fire escape, out in the open for anyone who cared to look.  
his mouth moves rhythmically over hers and she moves her own to match his heart-quickening pace. Its sweet and so full of every unspoken _I love you_ that had only been spoken without words but understood all the same and she loved it- she loved _him_. She clutched his jacket, green leather bunching in her fists, until she could feel every plane of his hard body pressed against her soft frame. Warm gloved hands came to rest low on her hips, pulling her impossibly closer until she couldn't tell you where she ended and he began.

It was everything, they were everything

for a bonafide genius, it was only then that she realized why her mark showed up when it did- she didn't need Oliver to be emotionally stable, she didn't need him to be perfect or 100% okay- she just needed him, she needed the passion with which he lived life, the mission he stood for- everything that was _him _

and he, Oliver Queen, needed her more than he needed the air that filled his lungs with every breath. He needed her light, her smiles, her adorable innuendos and the light that she brought him- the hope that had _saved_ him

Oliver Queen and Felicity Smoak needed each other, they completed each other

the slim green arrow that stood stark against their beating hearts was proof of that- proof that,_ The Mark_? It always knew

* * *

-Thanks so much for reading, reviews are love ! xx-


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